Design Program- which?

Andy Smelt

Andy Smelt

Andy Smelt

Associate
Joined
10 Aug 2006
Posts
18
Location
Halifax
Please could someone give me a lead on a program?
I am after a good prog. which will aid in case modding projects. When I was at Uni it was ok because I used to run AutoCad om the MAC but since graduating I'm stuffed. I am after one which will enable 2D/3D build-up and rendering. Also to show imaging. Any ideas would be V. helpful.Thanx.
P.S. not something that's gonna cost a mortgage.
 
What sort of design work are you after? Architectural or Mechanical?

Catia is God (in my humble opinion) for mechanical but Solidworks is pretty darned good and very easy to use (and, of course, substantially less than the £12k odd for basic V5 plus support costs! GULP).
 
Looking at catia and I think I'm gonna try that. Cheers. By the way Im using it to plan my mods out on. I want to get some Pro-looking designs not, 'Back-of-a fag packet stuff. :confused:
 
It's not cheap but it's worth the money if you're going commercial with your products chap.

You could always get an "evaluation copy" to see first if it's your cup of tea I suppose...
 
Intellicad is the most Autocad-like application and you should be able to switch right over. http://www.intellicadms.com/products/special-pricing.asp

Turbocad used to be good but the latest version (12) is an absolute nightmare. Wait until v13 if you want this application when it should have returned to the superb software it used to be. I use Vectorworks (professionally to earn my living) and it kicks the arse of any other CAD application I have ever used (AutoCAD, Microstation and TurboCad) however, it will cost you around about £900 plus more for a specialist Mechanical or Architectural module. Here are a couple of links to help you out:

http://www.caddigest.com/
http://www.tenlinks.com/
 
AJUK said:
I use Vectorworks (professionally to earn my living) and it kicks the arse of any other CAD application I have ever used (AutoCAD, Microstation and TurboCad)
Click to expand...

LOL. No offense but horses for courses fella.

Solidworks, Catia, Pro-Engineer, UniGraphics are all better than any of these for 3D modelling but the £xx thousands price difference obviously reflects this :eek:

I use Catia on a daily basis too (Design Engineer) and have used the others above in the past. It all depends on what you are after creating. Simple drawings and models or serious models, assemblies et al.
 
I haven't used those other CAD system so I cannot make a comparison, as I said. However, I haven't got the business end of £5,000 to £10,000 to spend either! :eek: :)

What I do know is though, VW is certainly way better than AutoCad. :)
 
Hi there,

I'm a Senior Design Engineer in the Aerospace business and can recommend Unigraphics and CATIA through my own experience. CAD systems have come a long way, long gone are the days of CADDS 5! What a nightmare of a system, impossible to believe Rolls Royce still use it...

I personally learnt CATIA first and hence I am fonder of it...in the trade you are either a CATIA man or a UG man. Each have their own strengths and weakneses and to a degree it's personal preference. From experience though, CATIA's surface modelling is considerably superior.

I must confess I haven't read the entire thread but if you are only case modding those systems are overkill and certainly not sure if you will be prepared to spend £25k on a CATIA v5 P3 licence!!

SolidWorks is a good entry level system, you won't find its limitations if you are only case modding.

Hope it helps,

Loko
 
Loko said:
Hi there,

I'm a Senior Design Engineer in the Aerospace business and can recommend Unigraphics and CATIA through my own experience. CAD systems have come a long way, long gone are the days of CADDS 5! What a nightmare of a system, impossible to believe Rolls Royce still use it...
Loko
Click to expand...

Ditto. RR (time served apprentice bless em), Boeing, GKN Westlands, Bombardier, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, BAe Systems as well as a few 1st tier suppliers. :D
LOL. Cadds4/5X. What a joke eh? You will be glad to hear RR have made the switch to UG thanks to what must have been a nice backhander for saying just about all of their customers (and I've worked for most of them) use Catia V4 or V5!

Used Cadds4/5x for about 7 years but having been on Catia for the past 11 I can say without doubt, Catia is the daddy.

Didn't realise it was "case" mods. LOL. I would download a few trial of Truespace or I've got one off a magazine cover (a few versions out of date but fine to use for this). So easy and quick to knock something up like this.

I thought it was car mods!! Should have known being on this forum.
I'm easily confused :confused: ;)
 
REDD555 said:
You will be glad to hear RR have made the switch to UG thanks to what must have been a nice backhander for saying just about all of their customers (and I've worked for most of them) use Catia V4 or V5!
Click to expand...

Yes I know chap, I'm currently doing some work for Royce's on UG. The legacy engines still running on CADDS 5 however, a team of lads at Rolls are having fun migrating models and drawings to UG... :D

We were amongst one of the suppliers that recommended UG to Rolls. We've been using UG for General Electric for getting on 15 years now!
 
Thanx 2 everyone who passed on their own experiences wiv using CAD in all its versions. Been through sampling till my heads in bits ha,ha! I'm gonna go with CATIA ( Its so much like AUTO 3D at UNI it's freaky). Like I said 'BIG THANX'. :)
 
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